Quick Answer

A lis pendens in Florida is the recorded notice — filed at the same time as a foreclosure complaint — that a lawsuit is pending against your property. It does not stop you from selling, but it clouds title, so the buyer's title insurer will require the lender to be paid off at closing. Florida foreclosures average 8 to 14 months from lis pendens filing to auction, giving you time to sell before judgment is entered.

What Is a Lis Pendens in Florida?

Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending." Under Fla. Stat. § 48.23, any party filing a lawsuit that may affect title to or possession of real property must record a lis pendens in the official records of the county where the property is located. In Florida foreclosures, the lender's attorney files the lis pendens simultaneously with the foreclosure complaint in the Circuit Court.

Once recorded, the lis pendens is visible in any title search. It does not prevent you from transferring the property, but it tells every potential buyer and every title insurer that there is a pending lawsuit that may give the lender the right to take the property. As a result, title companies will not insure a clean transfer until the underlying lawsuit is resolved — usually by paying off the lender at closing.

Florida Foreclosure Timeline After Lis Pendens

Florida is a judicial foreclosure state — the lender must obtain a court judgment before the property can be sold at auction. Average timeline by case posture:

  • Lis pendens + complaint filed: Day 0. Sheriff serves the complaint and summons on the homeowner within 30 to 60 days.
  • Answer deadline: 20 days from service of the complaint.
  • Uncontested (no answer): Lender moves for default and summary judgment — typically 60 to 120 days after service.
  • Contested (answer + defenses filed): Discovery, mediation, and motions — typically 12 to 24 months.
  • Final judgment entered: Court sets the auction date, normally 30 to 60 days out.
  • Foreclosure auction: Conducted online by the county clerk under Fla. Stat. § 45.031. Most Florida counties run online auctions.
  • Right of redemption: Ends when the clerk files the certificate of sale (usually the same day or next business day). Florida has no statutory post-sale redemption period.

Highest-volume foreclosure counties — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, Duval — average 10 to 14 months from lis pendens to auction. Lower-volume counties like Sarasota, Lee, Collier, and Brevard can move faster, especially for uncontested cases.

Can I Sell My House After a Lis Pendens?

Yes — and selling before the final judgment is usually the best financial and credit outcome available once a foreclosure case is filed. The mechanics:

  1. Request a payoff statement from the mortgage servicer. This is the dollar figure required to satisfy the loan in full, including accrued interest, attorney's fees, and court costs. Payoffs in foreclosure typically run 5 to 15 percent above the unpaid principal balance because of the legal fees.
  2. Sign a purchase contract with a buyer who can close in cash and on a short timeline. The contract should reference the lis pendens and require the lender to be paid off at closing.
  3. The title company orders an updated title commitment. The lis pendens appears as a Schedule B exception that must be cleared.
  4. At closing, the title company wires the payoff to the servicer. The lender executes a release of mortgage and files a voluntary dismissal of the foreclosure lawsuit, which automatically terminates the lis pendens.
  5. Title is delivered to the buyer free and clear. Any remaining sale proceeds go to the homeowner.

Traditional listed sales rarely work in this window because most retail buyers can't close fast enough — typical financing contingencies (45 to 60 days) plus appraisal contingencies frequently push past the foreclosure judgment date. A cash buyer can close in 7 to 14 days, well before the auction.

What Lis Pendens Does and Doesn't Do

Does:

  • Put the public on notice that a lawsuit affecting title is pending
  • Cloud title — buyers and lenders see it in any title search
  • Bind subsequent purchasers to the outcome of the lawsuit
  • Expire automatically one year from filing unless the court extends it

Does NOT:

  • Stop you from selling the property
  • Stop you from refinancing (though most lenders won't refinance a property in foreclosure)
  • Stop you from living in the house or renting it out
  • Appear on your consumer credit report (the underlying default does, however)
  • Trigger any acceleration on its own — acceleration is a separate clause invoked by the lender

Related Terms & Guides

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